The beauty of Indian classics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata is always enhanced positively when you reread them. The different versions of the story from different parts of the country is a testament to the fact that our country had a different way of looking to meaningful discussions and interpretations of the wonderful stories and also how it moulded the generations to think and act.

Ramayana for all its splendour from the Valmiki’s world to Kamban’s storyline to Tulsidays’s renditions with soulful music accompaniment has always been a great story for kids as well as for adults. Here in this series called Ramayana: The Game of Life, and the first book in review – Rise of the Sun Prince, we find a classical and easy to read narrative of the early life of Lord Rama and the setting in which the original classsic took its first shape.

In a different world sought to be mythological and storified, Ramayana would remain exactly that – a story. The quintessential idea of the story was more of the thoughts and morals and the way of life for us mortals to understand in its relative terms of living one’s own life. That perhaps was lost in the story being celebrated and the idea of the living being relegated in what was perhaps the historic distortion in a way.

Here the author Subha Vilas decodes the essence of life, from looking at the wonderful instances or rather every instance that happens in the life and times of Rama the Lord incarnate and his associates in the family and others.

This book is a long read which I believe is one to be read and digested. You would add to the beauty of the composition and also the understanding that you would love to have. The author has taken exceptional effort to paraphrase and link the resources to all materials that make for a great reading.

I believe this attempt at rendering the Ramayana will be one of the best life changing efforts from a storified version.

There’s so much to learn from every instance of the story, you get glimpses of the character’s strength, the weakness and how they have held their nerve to be what they are. This is not a one – off reading but a life book essential for anyone looking to learn from Ramayana and help oneself to tune to better thoughts and better days.

The author has kept a nice prose in effect making it very readable to modern day young audience and has taken care not to lose the charm of the story telling especially that of the young princes in question.

It has some great revelations in the story as much as we have taken Ramayana for granted. Read it for its sublime and sheer ecstasy of story telling and the nitty-gritties of the characters involved.

As I said earlier, you would take time to read and then digest them. Once you are done I am sure you are going to go back, open it and continue relishing those and discover for yourself newer meanings and ideas.

As always the scriptures have been pregnant with meaning and this holds true for this series too. Look forward to the remaining series and live to celebrate the life of one of the most charming and greatest kings the world has ever seen – Lord Rama.

Senthilkumar Rajappan

PS: I was very happy to receive a mail from the author, and I believe this review is a destined one in a way that I should write about the wonderful series to be. Thanks a lot to author Shubha Vilas for the review copy and this opportunity to review the book.